Baseboard convector construction



June 27, 1967 N. B. OWEN BASEBOARD CONVECTOR CONSTRUCTION Filed June 25, 1965 INVENTOR. Nafhan 5. Owen BY A T TORNE Y5 United States Patent 3,327,775 BASEBOARD CONVECTOR CONSTRUCTION Nathan B. Owen, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Twin Temp Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed June 25, 1965, Ser. No. 467,029 3 Claims. (Cl. 165-55) The present invention relates to improvements in baseboard convector constructions. In particular it relates to improvements in the supports for the various components of the baseboard convector assembly.

The primary component of a convector assembly is a heat exchange member which is positioned between two parallel plates; a mounting plate for attaching the assembly to the base of a wall of an enclosure, and a front cover plate designed to conceal and prevent contact with the heat exchange member. The front cover plate, in conjunction with the parallel mounting plate, forms an air channel in which the heat exchange member is positioned to allow flow of air from the base of the assembly over the heat exchanger and out an upper opening between the plates. A damper is positioned at the upper opening between the plates to control such air flow. In such an assembly, it is necessary to provide supporting means which extend from the mounting plate and support these various components of the assembly.

The supporting means for the heating core and the front cover plate on some previous baseboard convectors are rigidly affixed to the wall mounting plate, and permanently protrude therefrom. On other convectors, the supporting means consist of separate pieces which must, by some means, be attached to the wall mounting plate at the time of installation. Convectors of the former type, with the supporting means permanently protruding from the wall mounting plate, are bulky, and present problems in shipping and storage. Those of the second type, while more compact when disassembled, require additional installation time and expense, and frequently present the problem of an adequate number of supports not being attached, or being omitted in a hurried installation.

The present invention provides supporting arms which are permanently afllxed to the mounting plate, but which are pivotally attached to the plate. The supporting arms may thus be rotated to be relatively flat against the mounting plate prior to installation of the assembly. At the time of installation, the supporting arms are merely rotated to a protruding position to provide proper support for the various components of the convector.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved baseboard convector assembly which embodies construction that has been pre-assembled at the point of manufacture, and may be compactly packaged to reduce handling and assure proper assembly at the place of installation.

Another object of my invention is to provide in a baseboard convector assembly supporting means for various parts composed of brackets which are permanently affixed to the wall mounting plate, so that none of the supports for the various parts of the convector need be attached to the wall mounting at the time of installation.

A further object of my invention is to provide supports for the heating core, and front cover plate which 3,327,775 Patented June 27, 1967 may be pivoted to fold up against the wall mounting plate to provide a compact, space-saving unit, better adapted to shipping and storage.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification and claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a baseboard convector assembly with parts cut away to show the interior of the assembly;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the assembly shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective of a bracket for supporting various components within the assembly.

Refer-ring to FIG. 1, the baseboard convector assembly embodying my invention is designated by general reference numeral 4. A wall mounting plate 6 is adapted to be secured by means, not shown, to the wall of an enclosure. The mounting plate 6 has a main straight portion 7 which lies parallel to the base of the wall. A right angle bend at the upper edge of the plate provides a flange 8, which extends downwardly at 10 to partially conceal the interior of the assembly, and more particularly to conceal a return conduit 12. The base of the wall mounting plate 6 is curved at 14 to protrude away from the wall, and fits along the floor of the enclosure in which the assembly is installed.

Attached to the mounting plate 6 is a bracket, designated by general reference numeral 16, and shown in an enlarged perspective view in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the bracket 16 is attached to the mounting plate 6 by rivets 18 and 20. Near the upper end of the bracket is an arm 22, extending transversely from the lateral edge of the bracket. The end of arm 22 is turned up at 24, adapting it to support a return conduit 12 below the concealing flange 8 of the mounting plate 6, as shown in FIG. 2. EX- tending transversely from a lateral edge of the bracket 16 is a second arm 26 adapted to support a hinged damper 28, as shown in FIG. 2, which is designed to control the air flow through the assembly. v

Midway on the bracket 16 is a flange 30 which extends from the lateral edge of the bracket and pivotally supports an arm 32, the lower portion of which fits against the flange, and is fastened to the flange by a pin, or a rivet 34, which allows rotation of the arm in a plane parallel to the flange and transverse to the bracket and mounting plate. The base of the rear edge of the arm, as shown in FIG. 1 at 36, abuts the bracket, and is supported by it, when the arm is rotated to extend outwardly. The upper portion of the rear edge of the arm is notched, as shown in FIG. 1 at 38, to allow rotation of the arm to a dotted line position adjacent the bracket, as shown in FIG. 3, and an extended position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, supporting a front cover plate, indicated at 40.

On bracket 16, at its lower edge, is a flange 42 extending outwardly at right angles from the bracket. Pivotally attached to the flange is an arm 44 adapted to support the heating core, designated by general reference numeral 46, and the lower extremity of the front cover plate 40. The rear portion of arm 44 is attached to the flange by a pin or rivet 48 to allow rotation of the arm in a plane parallel to the flange, and at right angles to the bracket 16 and mounting plate 6. The rear edge 50 of the arm 44 is rounded to allow free rotation of the arm from a transverse position to a dotted line position adjacent to the bracket and mounting plate, as shown in FIG. 3. Near the rear edge of arm 44, extending up from the arm, is a tab 52 designed to dispose the heating core out of contact with the bracket and mounting plate. A sim lar tab 54 is near the forward edge of the arm, extending up from the arm; it is designed to dispose the heating core out of contact with the front cover plate 40. The forward edge of the arm extends downwardly to engage and support the lower extremity of the front cover plate 40.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the main portion of the .front cover plate 4.0 is in a plane parallel to the wall mounting plate 6, and is designed to conceal the interior of the convector assembly, and prevent contact with the heating core 46, and to form a channel in conjunction with the parallel mounting plate 6 through which air may pass and be heated. The upper portion of the plate 15 bent toward the mounting plate, and the upper edge of the plate is turned downwardly at 56 to engage the supporting arm 32. The lower extremity of the front cover plate is turned upwardly to form a groove 58, into which fits the downward extension of the lower supporting arm 44.

The heating core 46 consists of a tube 60 designed to carry heated fluid from a heat source. Attached to the tube 60 is a plurality of thin fins 62 to provide heat radiating surfaces. The fins 62 are spacially afiixed to the tube to allow the dew of air between them. Along each lateral edge of the heating core 46 is a partial covering 64, designed to provide a smooth surface covering the edges of the fins. The lower edges of the partial coverings 64 are turned to form rails 66 on both sides of the base of the core, providing relatively frictionless surfaces to rest upon the supporting arm 44.

The invention is practiced in the following manner. The major elements of the convector assembly are composed of the wall mounting plate 6, the cover plate 40, and the heat exchange member 46, which components are made in predetermined lengths. The brackets 16 are preferably made by stamping and assembly, whence they are permanently mounted on the wall mounting plate 6 by rivets 18 and 20, or other similar permanent fastening means. To reduce the bulk of the package composed of the wall mounting plate and the assembled brackets, the arms of the latter are rotated to their folded position and an appropriate length of the front cover plate 40 is included in the package. The heat exchange member 46 is generally packaged separately. At the place of mounting, the wall mounting plate is permanently affixed to the base of the wall of the enclosure, whence the two arms 32 and 44 of each bracket 16 are rotated to their active positions. The heat exchange member 46 and the return conduit 12 are properly connected by conventional pipe fitting means to the source of heat with the heat exchange member being supported on the lower arm 44 between the tabs 52, 54, and the return conduit 12 is supported on the fixed arm 22. The damper 28 is pivotally supported on the second rigid arm 26 of each of the brackets, whence the cover plate 40 is secured on the forward ends of the arms 32, 34, with the groove 58 being snapped into engagement with the forward edge of arms 44.

When assembled, the cover plate 40 and the rear plate 6 form a channel which permits air from the base of the assembly to fiow upwardly by convection in heat exchange relationship with the heat exchange member 46 and the control of the flow of such air is regulated by the damper 28.

The tube 60 of the heat exchange member 46 is preferably composed of copper, while the fins 62 are composed of aluminum, and the partial covers 64 are also preferably composed of aluminum, and are firmly adhered to the edges of the fins 62, preferably by an adhesive material. As the heated fluid flows through the tube 60, a portion of the heat is conducted outwardly by the fins 62 to the partial covers 64. The tube 60 will tend to elongate under the influence of the rise in temperature, and this will produce longitudinal movement of the assembly of the heat exchange member 46, relative to the surrounding parts. However, since the coefiicient of expansion of aluminum is somewhat greater than that of copper, desp te the fact that the outer ends of the fins 62, and the partial covers 64 are at a lower temperature than the copper tube 60, they will tend to expand and contract at substantially the same rate as the copper tube 60, so that the partial covers 64 will tend to move on their rail portions 66 relative to the arms 44 of the brackets, and the rails thus prevent direct contact between the fins 62 and any other parts of the assembly so that a silent heating system is provided.

One advantage of the invention is that installation t1rne and expense connected therewith is reduced by providing supporting means which are permanently affixed to the wall mounting panel and require the mere rotation of the elongated arms from a retracted to an active position to support the various parts. This arrangement prevents the loss or omission of parts in the assembly of the construction, and it also makes possible the compacting of the wall mounting panel and the front panel into a more economical package. 7

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that my invention may be modified, and this disclosure is intended to be illustrative only. Therefore, I intend to be limited solely by the scope of the amended claims.

I claim:

1. A baseboard convector assembly comprising a wall mounting plate formed with an outwardly projecting top portion, a heating core, a front cover plate, the improvement of an arm carried by said mounting plate adjacent the lower limits thereof and pivoted for rotation about a vertical axis between a first position that is substantially parallel with said plate and a second position substantially at right angles to said plate and when rotated to said second position being adapted to support said heating core and also support said front cover plate, said arm being permanently afiixed to said mounting plate and when rotated to said first position bein disposed within the limits of the top portion thereof.

2. A baseboard convector assembly comprising a wall mounting plate, a heating core, a front cover plate, the improvement of a first arm carried by said mounting plate adjacent the lower limits thereof and pivoted for rotation abouta vertical axis between a first position when said arm extends substantially parallel to said plate and a second position when said arm is substantially at right angles to said plate and when in said second position being adapted to support said heating core and said front cover plate, and a second arm carried by said mounting plate and pivoted for rotation about an axis which is parallel with the mounting plate between a first position when said arm is folded against said plate and a second position when said arm is in a plane parallel with the firstnamed arm when the latter is in its said second position, said second arm adapted to further support said front cover plate, both of said arms being permanently fixed to said wall mounting plate.

3. A baseboard convector assembly comprising in combination, a wall mounting plate formed with an outwardly projecting top portion, a heating core, a front cover plate,

the improvement of a bracket permanently secured to said wall mounting plate, a first arm pivoted to said bracket for rotation about a vertical axis relative to said plate between a first position which is substantially parallel to said plate and a second position substantially at right angles to said plate, said arm when in said second position being adapted to support said heating core and also support said front cover plate, and a second arm pivotally attached to said bracket for rotation about an axis that is substantially parallel with said wall mounting plate between a first position when said arm is folded against said bracket and a second position substantially at right angles to said mounting plate and in a plane substantially parallel with said first arm when the same is in its second position, said second arm being adapted to further support said front cover plate, .both of said arms being permanently aflixed to said bracket and when in their first-named positions being disposed within the limits of the top portion of said wall mounting plate.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,547,159 7/1925 Bach 248234 1,570,407 1/1926 Seide1 248-234 1,832,858 11/1931 Davis 248234 2,662,747 12/1953 Trane et al 16555 2,963,276 12/1960 Nelson 16555 X MEYER PERLIN, Primary Examiner. A. W. DAVIS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BASEBOARD CONVECTOR ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A WALL MOUNTING PLATE FORMED WITH AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING TOP PORTION, A HEATING CORE, A FRONT COVER PLATE, THE IMPROVEMENT OF AN ARM CARRIED BY SAID MOUNTING PLATE ADJACENT THE LOWER LIMITS THEREOF AND PIVOTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION THAT IS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH SAID PLATE AND A SECOND POSITION SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID PLATE AND WHEN ROTATED TO SAID SECOND POSITION BEING ADAPTED TO SUPPORT SAID HEATING CORE AND ALSO SUPPORT SAID FRONT COVER PLATE, SAID ARM BEING PERMANENTLY AFFIXED TO SAID MOUNTING PLATE AND WHEN ROTATED TO SAID FIRST POSITION BEING DISPOSED WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE TOP PORTION THEREOF. 